Baltimore’s Record Convention Slate in Peril as Cancellations Begin

Riots ravaging Baltimore, Md. are threatening to ruin the city’s record year of scheduled conventions. The city’s official sales and marketing organization, says a record 29 conventions are booked for 2015:

“Baltimore will host a record 29 citywide conventions in 2015, marking a great start to the meetings and convention calendar and building upon a successful year for tourism in 2014 that saw both hotel occupancy and rates reach pre-recession highs. In calendar year 2015, Baltimore will welcome more than 206,000 citywide convention attendees who will utilize more than 214,000 hotel room nights and generate an estimated economic impact of $138 million.”

But, cancellations due to the riots now threaten that record – and the $138 million those conventions were expected to contribute to the city’s economy. The Door and Hardware Institute’s (DHI) 2015 CoNEXTions convention, scheduled to run April 29-May 1, has been cancelled due to the riots:

“If you have seen the national news tonight the city of Baltimore is experiencing violent demonstrations after the funeral today of Freddie Gray. The Governor of Maryland has declared a State of Emergency bringing in the National Guard to support the Baltimore police and there are planned protests at City Hall on Wednesday which is in close proximity to the convention center.

“The DHI Board of Governors has discussed this issue in great detail this evening, with the overriding concern of the safety of our attendees while at our event in Baltimore. With that primary concern in mind they haveunanimously decided to cancel CoNEXTions 2015 in Baltimore.”